OBIT: Michael Szczepaniak Dies at 49

Michael Paul Szczepaniak died just four days shy of his 50th birthday on Oct. 6 at home in Woodridge surrounded by his family. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on Sept. 14.

Mike was born to Jerome and Emily Szczepaniak on Oct. 10, 1961. He graduated from Downers Grove South High School in 1980. He attended Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD, where he was a member of the Wolves football team and where he met his future wife.

Mike and Sherri Gullickson were married at the Second Presbyterian Church in Flandreau on June 12, 1982. The couple lived in Aberdeen where their son, Mitchell Ryan, was born on Dec. 11, 1983. The family moved to Woodridge in 1985 where he worked as a carpenter. Dustin Michael was born to the couple on August 19, 1986. Mike has been associated with DePaul University for the past 19 years as a maintenance man and locksmith.

Sports played a big part in Mike’s life. He loved watching his boys participate and was an avid Chicago Bears and Chicago White Sox fan. For the past several years he has enjoyed refereeing high school football games and also was a referee for younger children.

Mike is survived by his wife, Sherri; sons, Mitch and Dustin, his mother; 3 sisters; 2brothers; father-in-law, Gene Gullickson; mother-in-law, Jan Gullickson; 6 brothers-in-law; 3 sisters-in-law, several nieces, nephews, aunts & uncles.

He was preceded in death by his father, grandparents, and a nephew. Funeral service was held at St. Scholastica Church in Woodridge on October 11, with burial in Clarendon Hills Cemetery.